5.4 magnitude tremor jolts northeast, Nepal, China

Guwahati: An earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale Friday rocked India's northeast as well as parts of China and Nepal, triggering panic and forcing people out of their homes.

According to the US Geological Survey, the tremor was felt at 10.15 a.m. in Assam and other northeastern states, besides in Nepal and China.

The epicentre was plotted in western Xizang in China's Tibet region, 164 km from Nepal capital Kathmandu and 219 km from the Sikkim capital Gangtok. The India Meteorological Department plotted the epicentreat latitude 28.5 degrees north and longitude 86.7 degrees east in its preliminary report.

The tremor jolted homes in Assam's main city Guwahati, besides several other places in the region.

The eight northeastern states of Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and Sikkim are considered by seismologists as the sixth major earthquake prone belt in the world.

The region experienced one of the world's worst earthquakes, measuring 8.7 on the Richter Scale, in 1897 that claimed the lives of more than 1,600 people.